{"id":913252,"date":"2026-04-23T12:30:31","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T12:30:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/913252\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T12:30:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T12:30:31","slug":"i-was-stuck-in-a-3-5-hour-queue-for-post-brexit-checks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/913252\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I was stuck in a 3.5-hour queue for post-Brexit checks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Holidaymakers stuck in airport queues of more than three hours at new post-Brexit border checks<\/a> have spoken of fights breaking out as tensions boil over among passengers in danger of missing their flights<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lisbon airport in Portugal is among the worst-hit airports in Europe<\/a> for border queue chaos since the roll out of the new, post-Brexit Entry\/Exit System<\/a> (EES).<\/p>\n

It has been forced to temporarily suspend EES checks on a number of occasions when queues have threatened to prevent people getting on to flights, or caused overcrowding at terminals.<\/p>\n

The lengthy delays are the result of the EU\u2019s new biometric checks<\/a> at passport control, aimed at boosting security, which were fully implemented on 10 April.<\/p>\n

EES queue hotspots are emerging across Europe, with travellers also complaining about waits of several hours at Berlin, Paris, Geneva, Milan and Lanzarote.<\/p>\n

More than 100 travellers were \u201cabandoned\u201d when they missed their flight home to Manchester<\/a> after getting stuck in a three-hour passport check queue at Milan Malpensa airport.<\/p>\n

Three-hour waits have been seen at peak periods, according to the Airports Council International (ACI) Europe \u2013 which has warned that airports in Italy, Portugal, Spain, France, Germany and Greece are \u201cespecially impacted\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"\"Wofford, right, queued for more than three hours at Lisbon airport <\/p>\n

Posts about \u201cLisbon airport queues\u201d have become common on social media platforms like TikTok, with users warning others of the long waits.<\/p>\n

Tim Wofford, from Oklahoma City, USA, recently travelled from Lisbon to Philadelphia. He said rows broke out between passengers during his three-and-half hour wait in line at passport control.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was pretty easy to get into Lisbon but leaving took us three-and-a-half hours. Staff were constantly moving the ropes around and changing the flow of people.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the queue arguments broke out. A group of five even got flagged down by the police. I do not know if they were questioned or what happened, but tensions were definitely high,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

EES biometric checks requires non-EU citizens \u2013 including UK citizens after Brexit \u2013 to have their fingerprints and a photo taken as they enter and leave the Schengen area.<\/p>\n

The phased introduction of digital checks across Europe over recent months has been hit by IT problems and staff shortages.<\/p>\n

Airlines and airports have called for more flexibility so the system to be paused more frequently to avoid travel chaos this summer.<\/p>\n

Rupert Joy and his family were recently caught up in a passport control queue at Lisbon airport lasting one hour and 30 minutes.<\/p>\n

It meant they missed their flight back to the UK. The former diplomat paid another \u00a32,000 for much later flights back via Dublin.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe queue was absolutely enormous,\u201d said Joy, 62. \u201cI kept saying to the officials, \u2018We\u2019re going to miss our flight\u2019. But there they said they couldn\u2019t do anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was totally avoidable,\u201d he added. \u201cIt didn\u2019t look like an IT problem. The staff seemed to be inexperienced, in a panic and unable to deal with a big queue.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

In decades of travelling, I\u2019ve never seen anything like this. We were there long in advance of the flight, but the system is completely seized up. The complete lack of organisation has cost us over \u00a32000 \u2013 the only flight available, overnight, via Dublin. https:\/\/t.co\/QDhEyU8j9S<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Rupert Joy (@JoyRupert) April 10, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Joy said it was not an issue stemming from Brexit. \u201cIt\u2019s not as if British passengers are being singled out. Lots of people from countries all over the world struggled in the queue.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems to me about really poor airport management. Airports have to be capable of flexing when there are large numbers of passengers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elizabeth Ledgard-Hoile, 22, and her boyfriend Liam Moyles, 21, from Bristol, flew to Lisbon on 13 April from Rio for a five-hour layover. Once they got through security, they were hit by the lengthy passport line.<\/p>\n

\"\"Elizabeth and Liam were on their way home from Rio when they got caught in queues at Lisbon airport <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the biggest queue I have ever seen. It went from the passport control all the way through the airport until the doors you enter from. When we got there, we had a five-hour wait, we wanted to stay in the nice bit before passport control, but when we saw the queue, we got straight in it. <\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone was very stressed. There were some Americans next to us who were in disbelief. They were like \u2018we are going to miss our flight\u2019,\u201d Elizabeth said.<\/p>\n

However, once they joined the queue, the airport suspended the EES system to get through the backlog and it started moving freely. <\/p>\n

Elizabeth added: \u201cWe were kind of lucky, we got the better end of it. It ended up taking us half an hour.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey had set up four to five people with passport stamps, just stamping and letting people through. If we had come earlier, we probably would have had to wait hours and hours.\u201d<\/p>\n

Olivier Jankovec, director of the ACI European division, said: \u201cWe are seeing those queueing times now, at peak times, when traffic is just starting to build up.\u201d<\/p>\n

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